IROQUOIS USES OF MAIZE 75 



food was boiled until tender, three-quarters of an hour. This dried 

 corn was sometimes roasted and pounded for pudding meal. 



Nut and corn pottage, Onia* degaiyist'o^ ona'o'khu'. This 

 was prepared by mixing nut meal or nut milk, onia'^ge', with 

 parched corn meal. 



Heckewelder^ describes the use of nut milk with corn in a fairly 

 detailed way as follows: 



The Indians have a number of manners of preparing their corn. 

 They make an excellent pottage of it, by boiling it with fresh or 

 dried meat (the latter pounded), dried pumpkins, dry beans and 

 chestnuts. They sometimes sweeten it with sugar or molasses from 

 the sugar-maple tree. Another very good dish is prepared by boiUng 

 with their corn or maize, the washed kernels of shell bark or hickory 

 nut. They pound the nuts in a block or mortar, pouring a little warm 

 water on them, and gradually a little more as they become dry until, 

 at last, there is a sufficient quantity of water so that by stirring up 

 the pounded nuts the broken shells separate from the liquor, whidh 

 from the pounded kernels assumes the appearance of milk. This 

 being put into the kettle and mixed with the pottage gives it a rich 

 and agreeable flavor. If the broken shells do not all freely separate 

 by swimming on the top or sinking to the bottom, the liquor is 

 strained through a clean cloth before it is put into the kettle. 



Corn and pumpkin pudding, Oniu"sa* odjis'kwa.^^ This favorite 

 pudding was made from parched or yellow corn meal mixed with 

 sugar and boiled pumpkin or squash. It was often used instead of 

 gago^sa odjis'kwa. 



Samp, Gwa'ononda' or O'ni^yustage*. In making samp the 

 corn was treated with the same process as for corn bread except 

 that it was not beaten so fine in a mortar. It was boiled in water 

 and when cooked tasted like the soup of corn bread, but it did not 

 have so delicate a flavor. Often berries or meat were mixed and 

 cooked with samp. For samp any com that would hull easily was 

 used. 



Adair after describing hominy says, " the thin of this is what my 

 Lord Bacon calls Cream of Maize, and highly commends for an 

 excellent sort of nourishment." This is the samp, or gwa'ononda' of 

 the Iroquois. 



Corn pudding, 0"so^'v^a. ^^ For o"so"'wa w^hite corn was 



1 Heckewelder, John. History, Manners and Customs of the Indian 

 Nations. Hist. Soc. Pa. 12:194. 



2 Onoo^se'rhagowa odjis'kwa is the Mohawk name. 



3 Wadenosstatsaha"to', burnt corn, is the Mohawk name. 



